Atlas Copco brings clean water to needy rural areas

Compressor, mining and construction equipment maker Atlas Copco is playing a key role in bringing clean water to rural areas of Australia and Cambodia, among others, through its employee-driven Water for All charity.

Happy Cambodian recipients of an Atlas Copco bio sand filter.

In Australia, Water for All is installing 135 bio sand filters to provide clean drinking water to 58 families, benefitting 2,455 beneficiaries. The project, done in cooperation with non-profit organization Samaritans Purse, is expected to be completed by December 2015.

In Cambodia, the charity will finance the installation of bio sand filters to in about a dozen villages and communities, bringing clean water to more than 2,000 locals. Atlas Copco will also provide education on how to maintain the filters.

"Atlas Copco Australia believes that clean water is a basic human right and is so pleased that the contributions made for Water For All were able to change the lives of so many people in Cambodia," Atlas Copco Australia regional vice president holdings Paul Williams says.

About 6.3 million out of 14.9 million Cambodians are unable to access clean drinking water, with most of those in poor and living in rural areas.

"About 40 percent of Cambodians in rural areas have access to clean water, compared to 80 percent in the capital Phnom Penh," Atlas Copco says in a statement. " This is why Water For All is working to Improve the quality of rural water and, in turn, help accelerate Cambodia’s social and economic development."

Water for All is Atlas Copco’s main community engagement initiative. It was founded in Sweden by Atlas Copco employees 31 years ago and is still run by employees.

Its mission is to provide people in need with long-term access to clean drinking water. Through voluntary donations, boosted by the Atlas Copco Group, this non-profit organisation has so far provided clean drinking water to more than 1.5 million people.

Water for All has representation in more than 40 countries and supports projects all over the world.

To learn more about Water for All and the Peter Wallenberg Water for All Fund, visit www.water4all.org/us/